I have a Carsten Pintail that needs a little love on the keel. The boat was hauled in a pickup and where the end of the tailgate is relative to the boat...is damaged. The keel is weak there from bouncing. Previous owner did crappy repairs. He put the glass on the exterior of the boat. (WRONG!)

I'm going to be working on repairing it but really slow cuz money is a little tight. Started this thread so other more experienced guys might join in and offer some advice on what I need etc.

It's a great small project to show the do's and don't of fiberglass repairs. I'll take some pictures today of the boat upside down on the trailer.

It's ugly. The way I've heard to do this is to cut out all the bad. I'd end up with a hole about 6 inches long and 3 inches wide. I read that you build a 'form' on the outside of the boat and work all the repairs from the inside. That's about as far as my knowledge goes.

I need help selecting the materials. I don't know anything about the patterns of the weaving and how heavy or thick it is and what to use. What goes first, middle and last?

I same as you Aunt Betty have to do some minor repairs on a boat I picked up awhile back. None of my repairs is as large as what you have. So far the only instructions I've had has been from the back of the can of resin. The one thing I have learned is get a box of latix gloves, because you get that crap all over ya.

THE PRIDE OF HASKELL COUNTY OKLA.unknown in other parts of the world"FLY YOU LEAD CARRIN BASTARD" ( My dad, 1919/1997)

When i fixed mine it was fiberglass only no wood. But i fiberglass outside and in. I would cut that bad section back a little to make sure the wood is not rotter all the way out and i would fiberglass both sides if it was me

There is no wood. I'll just cut out the bad and a little extra. Use plastic and tape to make a form like the contour of the bottom of the boat and then turn it over and start filling in with layers. I think I'll sand the outside edges of the hole and bevel them so that when the filler dries it will hold to the outside a bit better. That way my repair will be a bit larger than the hole both inside and out. Makes sense to me.

No bigger than that you may be abel to sand and cut back to good material and then back fill a little at a time untill you bring it past even, then sand and shape. I hope Im clear, I know what im thinkin but not shure about what Im sayin.

THE PRIDE OF HASKELL COUNTY OKLA.unknown in other parts of the world"FLY YOU LEAD CARRIN BASTARD" ( My dad, 1919/1997)

Ive never tried to patch a canoe, but I have built a boat. If it were me I would get 6oz fiberglass cloth, lay down 2 layers on the outside with epoxy resin. Of coarse after you have cleaned and scuffed the area with 120 grit sandpaper. Get a small thing of closed cell marine foam, and fill the void on the inside of the boat. Then I would repeat on the inside with fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin. You can order supplies through uscomposites.com The foam is about $20, the resin is about $15 and cloth would be $5. With shipping I belive this method would be about $50.

TaylorMann1 wrote:Ive never tried to patch a canoe, but I have built a boat. If it were me I would get 6oz fiberglass cloth, lay down 2 layers on the outside with epoxy resin. Of coarse after you have cleaned and scuffed the area with 120 grit sandpaper. Get a small thing of closed cell marine foam, and fill the void on the inside of the boat. Then I would repeat on the inside with fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin. You can order supplies through uscomposites.com The foam is about $20, the resin is about $15 and cloth would be $5. With shipping I belive this method would be about $50.

Just saw you said the whole boat is rotten, you may be able to redo the boat. Sorry to hear that, looks like it would be a nice gunner.

I've had situations like that in the past. I would recommend getting the boat in a garage or barn for the season to thoroughly dry out. Grind open the obvious blisters and take out a floor board set up if there is one.What looks dismal now, might be harder and dryer in a few months.If you don't have an engine on a boat like that, you can spot fix to be water tight and you should be fine.If there are no floor boards, you may consider making some to disperse your weight if you feel the actual floor is dicey.Fiberglass is great stuff to work with

"I've been left for dead before but I'll still fight on, don't wait up, leave the light on, I'll be home soon"Chris Smither

Make sure you get epoxy resin and not the cheap poly resin like the bondo brand stuff at NAPA. That type of resin will eat the foam. Call uscomposites and they should be able to help. I build a foam layout boat and found that it cost alot more for resin than I had figured when I started building it. Good luck and keep us posted.

Life is to short to sweat the small stuff. Do what you love and do it often.

I repaired the boat but did a lousy job in documenting.Ended up cutting a hole in the boat and then just repairing the hole. Turns out that the boat hull had a rib of wood for the keel. That's why I thought it was hollow and two layers. (wrong)

I sawed a hole about 4x6 inches and made a form for the outside and then layed glass and resin from the inside of the boat.After a few layers (4-6) I had it built up nice. Turned the boat over and put a layer of resin on the outside to smooth it out. The repair was simple and only costed me $25-30 for the materials.

I apologize for being so poor at documenting this. I been busy working on two boats and a couple gun problems. It all came together at once...about three weeks before season in Arkansas starts.My parents sold me my dad's old duck boat two days before the Illinois duck season out of the blue. I couldn't turn down a 14-36 river-jon complete with Evinrude 15 HP, trolling motor, battery, and a custom-made duck blind. The price will make y'all sick. $400.